Homeward Bound
by Araceli L
Summary: For Foxpilot and PitFTW's AU Romance Contest. Where do you search for your home if you have left it behind?


**A/n: My entry to Foxpilot's and PitFTW's AU Romance Contest. I know it's short, I know it's quick, but...Hmm. I'm not good at writing long things, alright? I tend to do better in short stories and the like. Anyway, enjoy!**

The sky swirls its inky, bloody fingers among the clouds, dipping daintily into the various, beautiful paints, swaying the heavens. It winds it's fingertips across the atmosphere, clearing the midnight angels, scattering them to the scarlet sunup. All of this unfolds around me, and, just as I had been so long ago, I was captivated by the sky's audacity and pure, unadulterated beauty.

Beside me, young birds are singing blissfully into the unaware horizon, in a way I thought I'd never hear. Their delicate notes float breezily to the tips of the earth, catching the despondent unawares, effortlessly lifting them in their inspirational song. Anyone who hears them is fortunate; I know this.

Then why am I despairing the echoing calls of the sparrows?

My footsteps fall easily upon the quiet road, pounding along the deserted path. I feel nothing but the earth disappearing, step after step, underneath my feet, just like I always dreamed. It was all I ever wanted, to own the ground behind my footfalls and claim, with victory and pride, that they were mine, that I had walked every step that lay behind me like powdered snow. No one could persuade me from my dream, and I'd tore away on it, away from everything I'd ever known.

But it was what I wanted. It was what I longed for, to wade rivers, conquer the earth, and feel the sea's currents upon my face. I wanted to be caressed by the fragrance of the ocean, salty and warm; by the desert and rainforest breezes; by the solitary, lonely wind of the empty prairie. It held an inexplicable meaning to me, as though if I finally accomplished my dream of feeling the sea along my fingers, everything would turn out alright. I can't explain _what _would turn out, or what _alright _was, but I just knew it would come to be. It was as if fate was that desirable ocean in my faraway distance, beckoning for me to come and chase it. And I did.

I continue on the meadow's road, taking in the gently rising mists around me. The dew is glinting in the sun's cold and early streams, the grass below it glimmering faintly. The air is silent around me, tenderly wrapping it's chilly ribbons around the back of my neck, the palms of my hands. Beside me, the sunshine fights against the frost, but to no avail, and only succeeds in blinding my left side. But I revel in every part of the morning's beauty, for it is everything I ever wanted.

In the days before my adventure, I was downhearted and miserable, bound to the pasture and chained to the plow. I worked the land sullenly, like my father before me, though the ranch was his every love. The days of the small settlement were as endless as the wide, welcoming routes before me now. But those eternal hours were almost agonizing in their mundane dullness. A cowhand I was never meant to be, but nevertheless, was expected to be for my life. Every day was a labor of dejected efforts, unable to tell myself I could continue to live like that; every night the moon would whisper to me of her own adventures. Though it was not her intention, she taunted me with her talk of worlds far and wide. It was then that I knew I could not be content until I'd traveled every one.

I slunk off in the midst of the night, the moon's bright tendrils encouraging me on, every time I was anxious enough to look backwards. The only thing that ever met my eyes were the stalked deer of the forest, gazing at me impassively. At the time, I swore they were urging me to go on, but now, I ponder if they were asking me to return.

Then the bright, innocent, and beautiful eyes of a doe had caught my vision.

But that is all in the past. I am where I am now, with worlds behind and waiting for me. I was traversing these courses until my head was full of knowledge and my muscles had grown strong. They are, now, and I am wondering where to go from here. I still hunger for knowledge, but my mind reels with ever-increasing intellect, and I don't know if that's what is meant for me.

I stare at the dust beneath my feet, bowed to my command. Is this what I want? What have I gained?

You are what penetrates my mind now, as I gaze blankly at the world surrounding me, lost in my thoughts. You, with your luscious auburn hair that sashays like the wheat in the ripe fields; your perfect, illuminant face, putting the moon to envy; your dazzling, immensely beautiful sapphire eyes, rippling like the ocean in the wind and sparkling like the sea in the sun. Instantly I'm ensnared in those eyes, trying to figure out their endless mystery, the one part of you I could never seem to understand. Your laugh echoes in my ears, a blessing to be heard, the sound of the sun; your smile is the one bright light in my restless memories of home.

_Home._

I thought I didn't have a home, when I left the place I'd grown in. It meant nothing to me, the ripening fields and the budding flowers, the priming corn. It had become my prison, and I hated everything about it.

Except you. The lands had held no meaning for me; the labor no appeal. The small pastures could never satisfy my appetite, and I would never be content attempting to make them. Nothing was there for me.

Except you.

Now, frozen in the trails I longed to walk, I can only remember your eyes as I told you of my dream. You'd laughed quietly, though no humor was in your melodious voice; you'd grinned shortly, but no mirth was in your smile. I could tell you were trying not to believe it, but you knew me well enough. You knew I would never lie to you.

And, my darling, I never have.

There, in the small town's afternoon sun, I took your hands. It had been spring then. They were so soft, however hard you've worked, trembling faintly. It was a bold gesture, after all of my hidden feelings for you, but the moment was so grave I could not explain it to you in any other way.

You tried, rather half-heartedly, to cast away the allure of my hopes; I think you could see on my face that it was impossible. I think you understood it then, from the expression on my face and the look in my eyes. I'm not certain what I looked like, but you slowly seemed to go numb. It was then that I took you into my arms, wrapped you in my embrace like I'd longed to do for so long. You didn't shed a tear, but you gazed away from me.

I told you to do one thing for me: I told you to set me free, to find my calling. I told you I'd return to you, somehow. I told you I'd never lie to you.

And I never have.

I left in the summer, shouldering a pack and feeling adventurous. I couldn't describe the…_freedom, _redemption I felt as soon as I'd passed the border. I can only say I felt relieved, after a very long time. As though I'd lived forever with an inescapable sin and now it was being lifted off my shoulders, as though I was woken from a very long, deep sleep.

And those virtuous, sorrowful, gorgeous eyes followed me as I strode onward. When I looked back, I discovered the doe eyes were yours. I could feel your love slowly lingering about me as I continued on, and only then did I have a moment of doubt.

I stare at the earth trekked beneath my feet. Is it really mine?

How can one man claim, so foolishly, what is not rightfully his?

These paths, this earth, these worlds are not mine and never were. The summer is no longer gleaming; it has ceased. I know, back where you are, that the corn is past its prime.

Lately, I have begun to feel restless again; it is as though my pack has become heavier, as though my burdens are being laid stronger on my shoulder. Though my body has become lean and muscular, it feels weightier than ever before, and I feel as though I am getting weary, after seasons of my journey.

Is it nearing its end?

_Come back to me…_

No sooner does my listening ear pick up the mournful, pleading murmurs than do I know my adventure has lost its meaning. All I wanted was to understand something, to call something mine; little did I know I had you all along. It was what I _wanted,_ to face the earth, or so I thought; what I _long _for, deep in my heart, is you.

I don't glance at the worlds in front of me as I turn in the road, in the journey I took to find some sort of meaning; I wanted to find a home. It doesn't mean anything anymore, and it never did. I thought I didn't have a home. I didn't realize my home was wherever you are. It is in your heart, in your love, in your eyes and in your smile. Your eyes are the sea I have been searching for so desperately, and you are what I thought I was looking for. My home is with you. How could I have ever been so foolish?

The wind sets me racing, retracing this path I never thought I wanted to see again. This summer is over, my adventure is gone, and my time has come. I made a promise to you, and I told you I'd never lie to you.

I always told you I'd return to you, somehow.

Now, with your love in my heart, I am homeward bound again.

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A/N: **Inspired by the song "Homeward Bound" by I have no idea. But the song's obviously not mine. It's one of the most beautiful songs I've ever heard. Anyway this piece was inspired by A) the song (which I'm singing in choir as my duet) and b) my happiness today (It's my birthday:D). So, suck it, those of you who thought I was a bad writer because I was 13, I'M 14 NOW! SABES QUE!**

**Anyway, the two people in the story were Link and Zelda, because they are my favorite couple ever. Fangirl? Yes. Please review! Thanks for reading, I hope you enjoyed!**

**~Araceli L**

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Homeward Bound


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